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Jonathan Pearce
Jonathan Pearce is a British football commentator for the BBC and is also well known for commentating on all seven series of Robot Wars and both series of Robot Wars Extreme, the only member of the hosting team to do so. Robot Wars Although often criticised for his sometimes overly-exuberant approach to football commentary, Pearce's commentary was seen by many as a far better match for the more hectic Robot Wars scene. He began his six year run as commentator in 1998 and his enthusiasm attracted mainly positive reviews. Pearce made no secret of his excitement while commentating, and produced many priceless quotes. He was also known for occasional laughing fits, most notably during Hypno Disc's first battle against Robogeddon and the first ever Out of the Arena flip by Chaos 2 against Firestorm. Pearce's position was never in doubt and he held onto his role for all seven UK Championships as well as both series of Robot Wars Extreme. Guest interviews In The Sixth Wars and the second series of Extreme, Pearce would interview various other faces of Robot Wars on their bets on the final battle of the episode. Whenever Pearce was joined by a current Robot Wars Judge, they wouldn't give a verdict, as they had to remain impartial, but Pearce would still offer his prediction. Series 6 *'Heat A:' Pearce was joined by Noel Sharkey to discuss Razer's success and Raging Reality's performance so far. Pearce backed Razer. *'Heat B:' Pearce was joined by Philippa Forrester. Both Pearce and Forrester backed Firestorm to defeat X-Terminator. *'Heat C:' Pearce was joined by Craig Charles. Pearce backed Chaos 2, but Charles backed eventual winner Dantomkia. *'Heat D:' Again joined by Sharkey, Pearce again backed the seeded robot (S3) after Sharkey noted the different types of discs being used (2 horizontal counter rotating discs for Shredder and 1 large vertical disc for S3). *'Heat E:' Pearce and Charles both outlined Wild Thing's durability throughout its career and both backed it from having more experience. *'Heat F:' Similar to Heat C, Pearce backed the seeded Stinger, but Charles backed eventual winner 13 Black. *'Heat G:' Pearce, joined by Martin Smith, discussed the strengths of each robot before backing eventual champion Tornado. *'Heat H:' Unlike other heats, Pearce was not accompanied by anyone and this time backed Supernova after observing Spawn Again's difficulties throughout the heat. Despite this, another seeded robot made it through. *'Heat I:' Alone, Pearce said that "with my heart, I'd go with Terrorhurtz but my head says that Panic Attack will have its day". Pearce backed Panic Attack. *'Heat J:' Pearce was joined by Mat Irvine and noted how damage is the key factor in winning judges' decisions. Pearce then backed Dominator 2. He also added that Dominator 2 would not struggle with this victory. *'Heat K:' Pearce was once again joined by Philippa Forrester, who explained about Barber-Ous' modifications from the first round. Both Pearce and Forrester backed Hypno-Disc to defeat Barber-Ous 2. *'Heat L:' Pearce and Martin Smith discussed the battle between Bigger Brother and Disc-O-Inferno, comparing the flipper boom with the rise of the spinning disc. Smith was unable to make a prediction as a judge, but Pearce backed Bigger Brother to defeat Disc-O-Inferno. Extreme Series 2 *'All-Stars - Heat A:' Pearce was joined by Noel Sharkey. Sharkey noted that both machines were All-Stars but neither had made it all the way to the end. Sharkey had to remain impartial as a judge but Pearce backed Bigger Brother for no particular reason. *'All-Stars - Final:' Craig Charles joined Pearce in the box and Charles made an agreement that Razer was controversially defeated in the Sixth Wars because of Tornado's adaptation. Since Firestorm could not do so, both backed Razer to win the All-Stars again. *'Annihilator:' Derek Foxwell joined Pearce and explained about the repairs the finalists had to go through and how difficult they were. Despite Thermidor 2's success, Pearce backed eventual champion Kan Opener. *'Minor Meltdown:' Pearce was joined by Philippa Forrester, who was particularly pleased with Joe and Ellie Watts' teamwork and the fact that none of the young roboteers were having any help. They unanimously voted Bigger Brother to defeat Lambsy. *'New Blood - Heat A:' Pearce was joined by Derek Foxwell, who had seen all of the New Blood contestants in the auditions, and felt that people did get nervous in the arena. Foxwell thought that Mute was more manoeuvrable but Pearce backed Roobarb. *'New Blood - Heat B:' Pearce, noting damages sustained by both heat-finalists, was joined by Mat Irvine. Irvine mentioned that both reminded him of robots from earlier wars and Thor's powerful, if inaccurate, hammer, which Pearce backed. *'New Blood - Heat C': Craig Charles joined Pearce to discuss Storm 2 and ICU. Pearce thought that ICU had to work very hard to make it to the final and Charles felt the robot was not up to scratch. Although both felt it was a "Tornado rip-off" and lacked any real weaponry, both backed Storm 2. *'New Blood - Heat D:' Pearce was joined by Noel Sharkey, who was quick to notice Pressure's five weapons and Cedric Slammer's one and the difference in power. He also suggested that people who competed in New Blood also develop their own robots overtime to learn from experience. Pearce backed Cedric Slammer. *'New Blood - Final:' Martin Smith joined Pearce in the box. Smith was extremely impressed with Storm 2 and dubbed it as "a work of engineering art". Despite the lack of new design inovations, Pearce backed Storm 2 to win the title. *'Challenge Belt Final:' Mat Irvine joined Pearce and suggested Terrorhurtz is the most violent of all robots. Irvine noted Tornado's anti-crusher frame and encouraged other competitors to use these if they are legal. Pearce backed Terrorhurtz to win. *'Iron Maiden:' Pearce, joined by Philippa Forrester, favoured Pussycat, but Forrester, after showing how women drivers are more nervous than men at times because of the amount of damage that might happen to their robots, backed Chompalot. *'University Challenge:' Noel Sharkey joined Pearce in the commentary box, who thought that it was a very good idea for students to develop a product and bring it into the real world. Even though it lacked in power compared to Razer, Pearce backed Tiberius 3. *'Commonwealth Carnage:' Pearce was joined by Mat Irvine, who was very impressed by the technology used in Crushtacean's claws but both ultimately backed Firestorm 4. *'European Championship:' Pearce was joined by Craig Charles, who noted Team Razer's generosity for handing Tornado a place and felt that Razer was immobilised. Charles unsurprisingly backed Tornado as he felt that Philipper 2 was very lucky to reach that stage. Career outside Robot Wars Known for his loud, exciteable commentaries, he has worked for both Radio Five Live and Match of the Day, as well as participating in other lower key sports programmes. Pearce wanted to become a footballer, but his career was ended after breaking his leg in 1974. He started his career in broadcasting at BBC Radio Bristol before becoming a Sports Editor at the age of 23. In 1987 he moved to Capital Radio and he launched Capital Gold Sport a year later. Pearce also commentated on a few low-key Premier League games for Sky Sports during the 1992-93 season, before taking up his Five Live and Match of the Day roles. When Five was launched in 1997, Pearce was signed as their lead football commentator. Unlike his Robot Wars glory days that were before him, his excitable style of commentary received criticism from some quarters. Despite these setbacks, he joined Five Live in 2002 and was part of their commentary team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He went on to present the midweek sports programme Sport on Five from 2003 until 2005 and became a commentator for BBC television on Match of the Day in 2004. Pearce has commentated on over 150 England internationals, five FIFA World Cups, four European Championships and over 20 FA Cup Finals. In 1998, he received heavy criticism from British tabloid The Daily Mail for his exceptionally exuberant commentary during England's 1998 World Cup qualifier against Poland, often cheering his home nation on during the game. Despite the detractors, some praised Pearce on his outstanding ability to pronounce the Polish players' names. Since joining the BBC Match of the Day team, Pearce has been the second choice commentator to the legendary John Motson for live matches, but is seen by many as the favourite to become the BBC's first choice commentator now that John Motson has stopped covering international games. Indeed, Pearce is normally used for high-profile international games. He has also appeared in other BBC productions, such as Hole in the Wall and a guest appearance on Doctor Who. Category:Commentators